How peak shaving works

A charge for the highest power your facility draws in the billing month, averaged over 15-minute intervals and billed per kW. On many commercial and industrial rates it is a large share of the bill, and one busy interval sets it.

The grid demand the battery tries to hold. When the facility draws more than the setpoint, the battery supplies the difference; when it draws less, the battery can recharge with the headroom. A simple battery controller holds one fixed setpoint. QoreAI sets a new one every 15 minutes.

Because a battery holds a fixed amount of energy. The lower the setpoint, the more energy each peak takes. Set it too low and the battery runs empty before the peak is over, the load goes straight to the grid, and that interval sets the bill. A fixed setpoint has to choose between being cautious every day and failing on the hard ones.

The demand charge is set by the single highest interval of the month, so one miss resets the billed peak for the whole month, even if every other day was held. That is why the battery has to be run against the whole month, not just the day in front of it.

No. A fixed setpoint is the simple approach, and it is either too cautious on most days or too aggressive on the hard ones. QoreAI re-plans every 15 minutes from what it sees at the site in real time, setting a new target to get the facility the most value. It adapts on its own when something changes, such as new equipment, a new shift or an unexpected load.

It can if it is done carelessly. Recharging adds load, so it has to fit in the headroom under the current target, or the charging itself sets a new peak. EQORE plans recharging together with discharging.

Many do. PG&E B-19 charges for the month's maximum demand and again for the highest demand in the 4 to 9 PM peak period, each measured on its own window. In New England a site can face its monthly peak, a capacity tag set by the grid's single peak hour of the year, and power factor at the same time. QoreAI plans for all of them together rather than holding one number.

For facilities that are a good fit, demand-charge savings and program revenue together often come to about 1–4 months of the electricity bill a year. For any one site it is very hard to know without a full analysis: the tariff, the shape of the load and the programs available all move the number. The panels on this page show percentages and kW for that reason; the dollar line in the simulator is illustrative.

Yes. Programs such as ConnectedSolutions and the Clean Peak Standard pay for discharging during specific windows. Those windows compete with your own peaks for the same stored energy, so the controller plans them together. Which programs apply depends on your utility and location.